Lizardmen Shamans
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = / |melee = |ranged = ( ) |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Ranged Attack x4 Healer Purify }} Lizardmen Shamans are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Lizardmen Towns containing at least a Shrine. Shamans are a basic support unit capable of accelerating the recovery of wounded allies overland, and attacking enemies from a distance with magic during combat. While Lizardmen Shamans are not particularly powerful offensively, they are quite sturdy, and can cross Oceans. They may also become stronger with . Lizardmen Shamans have a Construction Cost of , and require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Lizardmen Spearmen are a group of bipedal reptilian humanoids, covered in thick green scales. They wear tattered red loincloths and golden necklaces. They carry staves, which are used both for hand-to-hand combat, and to channel magical energy into useful applications. Lizardmen are physically resilient, and can swim as easily as they can walk. Lizardmen Shamans are a , containing up to individuals. Attack Properties Lizardmen Shamans initially possess fairly weak attacks, which will only be threatening to low-tier enemies. Both their Melee- and Ranged Attacks have Attack Strengths of 2''', which has an average "raw" output of - barely enough to get through even light armor. They do get better with though, both in the strength and accuracy of their attacks. At the level, the maximum normally attainable, they will do nearly three times this much with both Attack Types - points of "raw" , on average, per '''Shaman. Their are not affected by the distance from the target, although they can only be used 4 times in any given battle. The magic of Lizardmen Shamans is considered to come from the Realm, and this is what their Ranged Attacks are associated with. As such, they will trigger the conditional modifiers granted by the and spells, making them much less effective against targets bearing these Unit Enchantments. While they are not considered to be direct , and are not nullified outright by Magic Immunity, the ability's will nonetheless make any opponent possessing it virtually impossible to hurt with these attacks. Defensive Properties Lizardmen Shamans wear medium armor, but unfortunately do not benefit from their Race's extra Defense point. Thus, they possess an initial score of . This can deflect about points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average - barely enough to avoid those of the lowest-tier Normal Units. On the other hand, each Lizardmen Shaman does have , making the unit quite resilient overall. Being magic-users, their Resistance score is also above average, although only slightly. With , they have a fair chance of avoiding at least the weakest Unit Curses and combat maledictions. All three of these statistics improve with as well. Other Properties Lizardmen Shamans move at a slow . Like all Lizardmen units though, they can also , which means that they can both traverse, and engage in combat on Ocean and Shore tiles, as well as land. In addition, Lizardmen Shamans possess the Healer and Purify abilities, both of which allow performing specialized functions on the overland map. The first trait recovers up to 20% of the total health of every unit on the Shamans' tile at the beginning of each game turn - including themselves. This healing is always rounded down though, and as a result it won't actually help any unit with an overall health pool lower than . The Healer ability does not stack, so each unit can only benefit from it once per turn. Therefore, having multiple Lizardmen Shamans in a group will not accelerate the recovery of injuries any further. Unfortunately, there is also a bug associated with this ability in the latest official version of the game. Any unit that is healed by Lizardmen Shamans that were created before the unit itself will effectively forego its natural healing for the turn. This is not intended however, and is corrected in the latest release candidates of the unofficial v1.51 patch. The other ability of Lizardmen Shamans lets them remove Corruption from overland map tiles. Although not overly common, and typically limited to being used by Wizards, the effect of Corruption can be quite troublesome, as it negates all Town contribution from the tiles it appears on, including that of any Terrain Specials. To cleanse a tile, the Shamans must move onto it, and activate their ability using the "Purify" command at the bottom of the overland unit window - this also requires them to be selected and have Movement Allowance remaining. It takes 4 + 1 turns to remove Corruption from one map square, with the former number representing progress that can be shared among multiple units with the Purify ability. Basic Strategy Lizardmen Shamans are a versatile support unit that can fill multiple roles both in- and outside of combat. Because Lizardmen don't have Bowmen, Shamans are their lowest tier ranged unit, and a fairly decent one at that. Their higher health makes them more durable than the Shamans and Bowmen of most other Races and, unlike many similar units, they also benefit from their own Healer ability from the moment they are recruited. In addition, Lizardmen Shamans are available quite early in the game, and have a comparably low cost as well. They do have some shortcomings though. Most notably, Lizardmen Shamans can only utilize their Ranged Attacks four times per battle, which means they may need to pick their targets more carefully than a unit with more ammo would. Another problem is that , in general, are very difficult to improve outside the effects of . They are unaffected by most other enhancements, including weapon quality - although the latter only matters for Wizards with the Alchemy Retort, since Lizardmen can not actually build Alchemists' Guilds anyway. Ultimately, Lizardmen Shamans tend to be replaced with Javelineers as their empire's main ranged fighters. While nearly all of their attributes are better though, Javelineers require a Fighters' Guild to train, which is a much bigger investment, even in a starting Town where two of the pre-requisite Town Buildings are already present. This can be quite important for the Lizardmen, as their ability to allows them earlier access to continents or islands other than the one they begin the game on, and having ranged support may help with both securing an area for colonization, as well as the defense of any newly formed Outposts. Regardless of whether they play a primary ranged role though, Lizardmen Shamans still have merit. Their healing skill can significantly reduce the time it takes for wounded soldiers to become battle-ready again, although if recruited for this ability alone, a single unit of Shamans is usually enough for each army stack. In fact, it may be better for them to follow the fighting group instead of being part of it in this case. This not only prevents them from being sniped, but also allows a full 9 other units to be used in the stack they are supporting. Granted, the Shamans will not get battle this way, but since the Healer ability does not scale with their level, this should not make much of a difference if they stay out of combat anyway. Finally, Lizardmen Shamans may be necessary to recruit when going up against practitioners of magic, as Corruption can be a serious hindrance to the player's economy. Whether a single unit can handle the task of cleansing the neighbouring lands will of course depend on the frequency of the opponents using spells with this effect. While it may be tempting to create 4 Shamans to get the fastest Purify times, this is not always efficient, especially when one unit can cleanse a tile before another Corruption appears, or the entire group is even recruited. On the other hand, treasury allowing, having a dedicated full group can ensure that critical resources, such as Terrain Specials, are regained in the most timely manner possible. Ability Overview Ranged Attack x4 * This unit may use a instead of a Melee Attack up to 4 times in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks. Healer * At the beginning of each overland turn, every friendly unit that is on the same map tile as one with this ability is healed for up to 20% of its total , rounded down. * This ability has no effect on Undead and creatures. * Multiple instances of this ability are not cumulative. Purify * This unit can remove Corruption from overland map tiles. * To use this ability, the unit needs to be on a valid tile, be selected, and have Movement Allowance remaining. If all requirements are met, the "Purify" command becomes active in the unit window at the bottom right of the screen. * Cleansing a tile takes 4 + 1 game turns, with the first number representing progress that can be shared among multiple units with this ability - resulting in total times ranging from 2 turns with 4 units, to 5 with a single one. Experience Table The following table illustrates how Lizardmen Shamans improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of "raw" that each in a Lizardmen Shamans unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Lizardmen Shamans may be recruited in any Lizardmen Town that has a Shrine already built. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Lizardmen Shamans may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Arcanus. In this case, they cost between to to hire per unit, based on their - or half that much for Charismatic Wizards. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Lizardmen Category:Shamans